Kamen Rider Terra Firma
by Kamen Rider Saisho
Summary: Kevin Carlile is a normal High School student. But when a company known as NANO threatens to turn all of humanity into cyborg monstrosities, Gaia chooses him to be the protector of the earth! Rated T for some language and violence. R&R flames ignored.
1. Chapter 1: Birth of the Guardian

A/N: as much as I would like to, I do not own the Kamen Rider Franchise. Toei does. I don't. I only own my original characters and riders. Now that that's clear, on to the fan fiction!

**Kamen Rider Terra Firma**

**Chapter one: Birth of the guardian.**

My name is Kevin Carlile. I'm your average high school student, and I mean that literally. I'm fairly smart, strong enough to hold my own in a fight and I don't do many extracurricular activities. The only unusual thing about me is that I'm a fan of a show from Japan called Kamen Rider. No one knows what it is and I'm fine with that. It's all in good fun, and even if it's not real it's still amazing. But sometimes you wonder…what if your favorite shows were real?

_First day of school_

I walked in to my school, just as the bell rang, as had been the norm last year. I scrambled to get my stuff before running into the classroom and sitting down next to my friends Ace, Nate, and Carl.

Ace was a fairly skinny kid with buzz cut brown hair. His real name is…hell I've called him Ace so long I've forgotten. Anyway.

Nate was skinny too, just not as much as Ace. Nothing abnormal bout him except his tendency to space out. But I do too so I have no room to talk

Carl's the unusual one. He's a pretty big dude and he has got the longest hair I've ever seen. But you wouldn't find a nicer guy. That's something we share. We wouldn't hurt a fly unless it hurt us first.

"Dude" said Ace. "You were ten seconds away from detention"

"Yeah yeah yeah I know. Stop nagging me." I replied. The rest of class went on pretty much normal and boring.

_End of day._

I grabbed my hat out of my locker and said later to my friends. I started my walk home with my iPod earphones plugged into my ears. Then, I heard a voice.

"Destiny…guardian…protect the earth!"

I was blinded by a flash of light and suddenly I was surrounded by forest. I looked around, stunned and my jaw hanging open. A woman suddenly walked out of the tree, wearing flowers and leaves as clothing.

"Welcome Kevin. I've been expecting you" said this mysterious woman

"Okay, ma'am, not to be rude, but who the hell are you, where the hell am I, and how the hell do you know my name." I said, pulling my headphones out of my ears. I heard the woman chuckle and she spoke again.

"Calm yourself young one" She said. "I am Gaia, or Mother Nature, as most humans call me." 

"You're Gaia? As in 'spirit of the earth and all its creatures' Gaia? OK, if I chose to believe you, why would you need me?" I asked

"Because, Kevin, you have been chosen to be one of the guardians of the earth. You have been chosen to be the next Kamen Rider." Gaia said to me.

I stood there for a second before falling down laughing. Gaia glared at me as I continued to laugh.

"Oh come on lady! Now I know you're pulling my leg. Kamen Riders aren't real! Their a TV show in Japan!" I said, regaining my composure. "They're pretty cool but there's no way it could be pulled off! Now if you'll excuse me will be finding my way home." 

At the end of this last statement I was yanked into the air by a swarm of vines, which seemed to be almost alive. The vines turned me toward Gaia, who was holding up her hand, seemingly controlling them. She wore a smug smirk upon her face as she said "Do you believe me now?" as she finished the sentence, the vines released me.

"Alright I believe you" I said as I stood up and dusted myself off. "But why me? I'm just some kid!"

"Wrong, Kevin. You are a rarity among humans. Someone sound of mind, sound of body, and pure of heart. These three traits are crucial to be a guardian. However the trait that solidified you as the head of the guardians. You have the capacity to make anything a reality. You say "what if" to almost everything. That is why I bestow upon you this!"

A bright flash of light surrounded my hand and when it died down a bronze gauntlet had appeared on my hand. This mysterious piece of armor went up my forearm and stopped at the elbow. On the back of my hand was dial with two arrows on either side of it, pointing inward to an intricate emblem that seemed to represent the element of earth, as when I stared at it, I seemed to get a vision of a mountain.

"Wha…What is this?" I managed to stutter out.

"That" said Gaia "Is the source of your power. I have found that gauntlets are far more efficient than belts are."

"Wow…so this is what I'll use to transform? How do I work it? What's my rider name?" I started to blurt out random questions like a regular fan boy. All Gaia did was laugh.

"All in due time Kevin. Now, onto serious business. It is time you learn about the threat at hand. In this world, there are men who seek power above all else. One of these groups calls themselves NANO. They are one of the most prominent companies in the newly developing field of nanotechnology, and their headquarters are in your town. Though they did not achieve this on their own. An alien race came down from a distant planet, a race of all automatons, or robots. They gave them the power to rule the world alongside them by giving them nanobots that would mutate a person into a half human half robot monstrosity. They will do this one human at a time until all of humanity has become one of them. The only way to combat this is with the forces of nature. So I have picked 2 capable humans to wield the four elements and defend earth. If you choose to help me you will gain the power and knowledge you need to save everyone. If you deny it I will wipe your memory and choose another. Do you choose to accept, Kevin Carlile?"

I pondered in thought before finally nodding my head. Suddenly knowledge flooded my mind. In a matter of moments, I knew everything I needed to know to protect the earth. Suddenly I knew that back on earth, someone was in trouble. Gaia nodded at me and teleported me back to where I was and standing before me was a monstrosity attacking my school. My friends cowered in the corner as the beast advanced on them. It seemed to be a normal human with metal for skin, but when it turned around I saw that it had two large rounded eyes with slits for pupils and it had claws on its fingers. It roared and they passed out.

"HEY UGLY!" I yelled. It turned and growled at me and I smirked. I held up my gauntlet and said "How would you like a fair fight?" It charged but I dodged out of the way.

I thought to myself as it charged again _'All that's required to activate the gauntlet is a little bit of earth. But that's not very dramatic is it' _It charged once more and I back flipped out of the way. I stopped with one knee on the ground, and then punched a hole in the pavement with my newfound strength. When I pulled the gauntlet out, its powers had changed it. Because of the contact with the earth in the pavement, my forearm was covered in jagged rocks. I smirked and held my hand to my face.

I thought to myself _'I've wanted to do this for a long time'_. I then yelled out that one important word.

"HENSHIN!"

The jagged rocks from the gauntlet spread up all over my body, completely covering me, except for a small visor made of jade on the face. The rocks then cracked and shattered, revealing my newfound rider armor. My armor was made of sedimentary rock. It started from a dial on the back of my right hand, which was all that remained of my Henshin gauntlet. The rocks ran up the backs of my hands, ran from my wrists past my forearms, extruding off my elbows into spikes. Rounded rocks formed shoulder pads and torso armor. My torso armor somewhat resembled that of Agito, without the gem in between the pectorals. The torso armor bore intricate carvings, the same carvings that were around the dial on the gauntlet. The rock armor ran down my shins, with spikes protruding upward off of my knees, similar to those on my elbow. I wore black boots with gold trim to complete the lower half of my armor. From above the helmet's eyepieces extruded jagged rocks. The helmet had a silver mouthpiece and two large jade eyepieces. I took a deep breath in and struck a pose. "I am…Kamen Rider TERRA FIRMA!"

The monster growled and lunged again, and was swiftly met with a punch to the face. It stumbled back and tried to claw at me but I grabbed its hand and flipped it onto the ground. It got up and I delivered a Chuck Norris-style roundhouse kick to its face. I proceeded to charge at it and deal numerous punches and kicks to the monster until I tripped it and did an axe kick to the back of its head as it stumbled, knocking it to the ground. The creature got up and opened its mouth revealing fangs with holes in them for injecting the nanobots. It tried to bite me, but its teeth couldn't pierce the rocks on the armor. I kneed the monster in the stomach and it reeled back in pain. I slapped the dial on the back of my hand and the rocks completely covered me as they had initially. I punched the monster in the gut and a mark was placed on its stomach. The visor highlighted this emblem and labeled it "target" I leapt into the air and performed a flying side kick into the monsters gut as I yelled out "EARTHEN KICK!" When the kick contacted, the monster exploded. When the smoke cleared, a normal man lay in the street, perfectly unharmed. I stood up and my armor shattered away. "Whew…what a rush"

**End chapter 1**

And there it is, the first chapter to the first purely rider fanfic I've written. I think im doin' pretty well. Also, those of you that are a fan of my shinobi rider hopper series GO REVIEW THE THIRD CHAPTER! Laters Ya'll!


	2. Chapter 2: The Burning Passion Within

**Kamen Rider Terra Firma**

**Chapter Two: The Burning Passion Within**

Key

"normal with quotations" Spoken words

'_Italicized with apostrophes' _Thoughts

_Italicized text with spoken words "Italicized with quotations"_ Flashbacks

_**Flashback**_

_I punched the monster in the gut and a mark was placed on its stomach. The visor highlighted this emblem and labeled it "target" I leapt into the air and performed a flying side kick into the monsters gut as I yelled out "EARTHEN KICK!" When the kick contacted, the monster exploded. When the smoke cleared, a normal man lay in the street, perfectly unharmed. I stood up and my armor shattered away. "Whew…what a rush"_

_**End flashback**_

My name is Kevin Carlile, otherwise known as Kamen Rider Terra Firma, the protector of the earth. I was recruited by Gaia, Mother Nature herself, to defend the world from an evil organization known as NANO. They have allied themselves with an alien race, which I know virtually nothing about, except that they are purely robotic and are planning to work with NANO to turn the human race into their cyborg slaves. Like I'm going to let that happen. But I have only just begun my duties as a Rider…I still have a lot to learn…and many enemies to triumph over.

_2 weeks after the first attack_

'_I'm surprised that its taken so long for NANO to attack again…they have to be planning something. But why would they? For all they know I'm still only a minor threat…I'll have to ask Gaia about this later' _I thought to myself.

"MISTER CARLILE!" yelled my Geometry teacher

"HUH?"

"Since you seem to be so intent at staring at the bored, maybe you wouldn't mind telling me the answer to the problem on the board?" she said somewhat smugly.

"…X=3.75 Y=2.2 Z=3.44" I said bluntly

"Correct…sit down" She growled

(A/N: Zatch Bell reference!")

I sat down and resumed my thoughts with a smirk. I loved it when I proved a teacher wrong.

_After School._

I walked into a vacant space at the park and glanced around. No one. I held up my right hand. On it was a fingerless glove, which was my henshin gauntlet in disguise. I pressed the logo on the back and slapped my palm to the ground. A giant doorway made of rocks appeared and I walked through, and then it disappeared. I was standing in the Grand Forest, where Gaia lived. She then appeared before me with a smile.

"Hello, Kevin. Is there something I can help you with?" She said to me.

"Yeah there is, Gaia. I may be new to this Guardian business, but NANO seems waaaay to quiet" I said. "For an evil organization, they haven't been very active considering someone stopped one of their supposedly "unstoppable" creatures."

"Hmmmm….you have a point. I'll look into it. If anything pops up, I will summon you." She said. She patted my head reassuringly, but I growled kind of embarrassed.

I nodded and summon the gateway again, then walked through it. Suddenly I felt a rush of heat, but it faded and I resumed my walk home as if nothing happened.

_At home_

I sat in my room, researching anything I could about NANO and their actions, finding nothing. After hours of research I gave up and decided to make myself some pizza for dinner. My parents were at work so I was home alone. I unwrapped the pizza and grabbed the frozen Italian dish so I could place it on the plate, but it seemed to warm up considerably before I even put it in the microwave, but I shrugged this off, thinking the heater was on. I ate my dinner and then walked outside to practice with the abilities I had discovered since the initial battle. I had found that I had extraordinary strength and terrakinesis, or the ability to manipulate the element of earth at will. I began to practice and as I continued to strain myself I felt my temperature rising, and my head felt like it was going to burst. Suddenly my arm burst into flames and I started to scream in pain. I grabbed the hose and doused my arm, extinguishing the flames. I looked at my arm, and there was no damage. I gasped for air in my panic and when I regained my composure, I had a glare on my face. I summoned the gate once again, and when Gaia appeared to greet me in the Grand Forest, she suddenly found herself trapped in a pillar of stone.

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED TO ME GAIA? MY ARM BURST INTO FLAMES." I shouted angrily.

"Hmm…I didn't expect it to take effect in such a short period of time." She said

"For what to take effect?" I asked

"I only choose two guardians, but one of them is the leader. That's you. I give each of them one element initially, but once they have developed their initial element enough through training, I unlock their potential with the second element." She said. "Your second element, Kevin, is fire. I have unlocked your abilities with flames so you can combat whatever threat that NANO is going to throw at you. Because you see, I have found that they are sending another cyborg to combat you that you cannot hope to defeat without the power of fire"

I absorbed this information then released her, even though I knew she could have released herself, regardless. I summoned the gate and left.

_Saturday_

"_I can't even train without those flames consuming me. I've tried to train with them but it's not helping…things are just getting worse. At this rate I'll never be able to transform again" _ I thought to myself as I sat in my room listening to my iPod. Indestructible by Disturbed, specifically. Suddenly I heard Gaia in my head, telling me the location of another cyborg. I thought about what might go wrong but I knew I still had to try in order to protect those I cared about. I grabbed my glove and ran out the door.

_Later at the local botanical garden_

"What the hell is a cyborg doing here? Ah well. HENSHIN!" I said. The rocks covered me and shattered, just as they had the previous time. I walked through the garden cautiously, and suddenly I heard a plant growing behind me. I did a roundhouse kick behind me, and something was flung from the tree. It was a horrid monster, just like the last one, except it had vines for fingers and moss covered its metallic arms. It had been enhanced with botanical science. I growled and started unleashing punches and kicks like a monster. I felt the flames start to absorb my body. I groaned in pain and dropped to the ground.

Suddenly, I saw my sister Carly walk through the door. The creature turned and roared. It grabbed her and slammed her to the ground, unconscious. It started to walk towards her, but suddenly it saw three fingers over its eyes. I had its head grasped in my hand. I threw it against the wall and growled. The flames fly up my arms and I but I decided to grit my teeth and bear it. Suddenly I noticed something. The dial on my hand was glowing. I turned it so that instead of the arrows pointing towards the center vertically, they were pointing at it horizontally. The pattern within the dial changed and I suddenly got an image of a wildfire instead of the image of a mountain. I roared and the fires started to grow.

"PYRO HENSHIN!" I yelled in my fury. The flames engulfed my armor but then I swept my arm, Hibiki style, and they dispersed. I was suddenly covered in shining white armor, with spikes with the appearance of flames going up my forearms past my elbows, up my shins and past my knees, and off of my shoulders, similar to the way that the rocks had formed spikes. The eyes of my armor were now a brilliant golden color and were surrounded by a flaming pattern. Just like on the previous armor, the symbol from the dial was engraved on the torso armor and the dial was on the back of my hand.

I clenched my fist and struck a pose again. "I AM KAMEN RIDER TERRA FIRMA! PYRO FORM!"

The cyborg roared and charged at me, and I proceeded to punch it in the chest while my fist was ablaze. It roared in pain and charged again, only to be met by a kick to the head. I lit both of my fists into a roaring inferno then proceeded to punch the monstrosity in the stomach, leaving a burning mark just as I had done with the first monstrosity I had fought. All of the flaming patterns on my armor came alive as actual flame and I proceeded to kick the monster into the air. "FLAMING GUARDIAN'S BARRAGE!" I yelled as I jumped up and assaulted it with rapid fire punches, before kicking it back down to the ground. When the smoke of the flames cleared, the monster had returned to its (or HER I should say) human state, the owner of the botanical garden. "Heh…looks like I overdid it." I said as I walked out of the crater I had made and collapsed from exhaustion. As I slipped into unconsciousness I knew that I needed to hold back next time I used pyro form.


	3. Chapter 3: Weapons of the Guardian

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen rider…sadly.

**Kamen Rider Terra Firma**

**Chapter 3: Weapons of the Guardian**

"Normal with Quotations" Is speech

'_Italicized with apostrophes'_ is thought (not italicized in flashbacks)

_Italicized text is flashbacks "with quotations for speech during flashback"_

_Time skip…1 month after first Pyro transformation…_

I sat in my classroom, overheated, and waiting for the bell to ring. It was the last day of the week before Thanksgiving break. My last day before freedom. Of course I did have one worry. If NANO decided to strike during thanksgiving break…I would be screwed…

**BRRRRRRRRRIIIING!**

"FREEDOM!" I yelled as I grabbed my backpack and ran out the door. I got out the front door and onto the schools front lawn when I was blocked by Adam and Paul…the schools biggest idiots. They thought they were all badass by making fun of the lowerclassmen (these two idiots are juniors). They smirked as they stood in front of me.

"Oh look at the sophy ready to go home" Said Adam

"Yeah" Paul laughed idiotically

"Get the hell out of my way. I want to get home and I don't need two assholes blocking my way" I said, starting to get pissed

"First, give us your iPod" Said Adam

"…What is this, middle school? Ooo you're going to bully me! I'm sooo scared! Get out of my way" I scoffed, trying to shove past them. Adam grabbed my shoulder.

"Got to pay the toll, kid" Paul chuckled

Adam jerked his hand away as it started to burn. I glared at them. They had made me mad. I stomped my foot and a seismic quake rocked the school grounds. Suddenly, a hole appeared under them. They screamed as they fell into the small pit I had made. The principal ran up.

"What happened?" he asked.

"An earthquake made a hole in the ground and they fell in…I think they got concussions" I said nonchalantly as I walked away. I smirked and thought to myself as I walked home _'I love having superpowers'_

_Home_

"Mom I'm home!" I yelled. I noticed a note on the table. I picked it up and read it aloud "'Kevin your father and I are going out tonight there's a pizza in the freezer, Love Mom'…Cool." I said. I grabbed the pizza and placed it on a glass plate. I set the plate on the table and heated up the pizza by blasting it with a small fireball. I started to eat when I heard Gaia calling me to the Grand Forest. I grabbed my pizza, summoned the gate and stepped into the forest.

"What's up Gaia?" I asked the spirit of the Earth.

"Why did I detect a seismic quake in your area?" She asked me

"Oh come on Gaia they were idiots! And they made me mad…" I said as I took a bite of my pizza.

"Be that as it may you must not use your powers on mere mortals, or they may reveal your identity" Gaia scolded me.

"Oh like people are going to believe a 15 year old made an earthquake by stomping his foot?" I protested.

"Good point. But be more careful from now on, Kevin. NANO cannot know who you are." She said.

"I will, don't worry." I said as I took the last bite of my pizza and walked through the portal I had created.

_Elsewhere_

A man walked up to Adam and Paul as they roamed the streets. He wore a trenchcoat and a black fedora.

"Would you two like revenge on the one who humiliated you today?" he asked

"Kevin Carlile? We want to stomp that little punk into the ground!" growled Adam

The mysterious figure smiled evilly. "Oh don't worry…you will."

_Week of thanksgiving break…_

I woke up around 11 the Monday after that, ready to have a nice relaxing day. After breakfast I watched a little TV before I sensed something. NANO was striking. I grabbed my glove and ran to where I sensed the disturbance coming from.

_Midtown…_

I ran to the disturbance only to find Paul and Aaron standing in front of a mass of people tied up with a metallic rope.

"Did you two do this?" I asked them. Before they could ask them, I took a precaution to shift my glove into the gauntlet form behind my back.

"Of course we did" Said Adam.

"To attract you" finished Paul.

I noticed they were speaking much clearer, like they were actually intelligent. Suddenly they shifted into cyborg monstrosities. Adam seemed like a humanoid silver colored cybernetic wolf, and Paul seemed like a humanoid gold colored cybernetic tiger. They charged at me but I flipped over them and turned the dial to pyro, knowing I would need agility to beat them. I lit a fireball in my other hand and touched it to the dial. Flames ran up to my forearm once again.

"HENSHIN!" I yelled out. The flames covered my body as I turned into Kamen Rider Terra Firma, Pyro Form.

The two idiots-turned-monsters charged at me, with Paul meeting a flaming roundhouse kick to the face. But when I turned to attack Adam, he clawed me across the chest. I reeled back in pain, before charging again, but Paul stabbed his claws into my back. I fell to the ground in pain.

'_Damn it!' _I thought to myself in pain. _'They're too fast for my attacks! I need a way to attack both of them at once! Like a weapon.'_

Gaia heard my plea, apparently, and knowledge flooded into my brain. I smirked under my helmet and let flames shoot out from between my knuckles.

"INFERNO DAGGERS!" I shouted. The flames solidified into flame-themed daggers, one in between each finger. Each of the daggers was small enough to be thrown. I stood up and took a fighting stance.

Paul and Adam charged at me, and I punched Adam In the gut with the daggers sticking into him, but when Paul tried to attack from behind I spun around and flung 5 daggers into his chest. I used my pyrokinesis to control the fire in the daggers, rearranging them into the points of a star on either of them. I then formed two more daggers in my hand and then flung two more daggers into the center of the stars. The two were paralyzed in pain as fire connected the points of the star. I turned my back on the two monstrosities.

"Inferno Daggers…BLAZE!" I shouted as I snapped my fingers. The two cyborgs burst into flames and fell down and exploded. However, there weren't scraps of metal around them like there had been around my previous opponents after defeating them (A/N: small detail I forgot to mention) . A man in a trenchcoat walked onto the scene and the gold and silver metals that had covered Paul and Adam and merged onto him. He grew to the size of a large house. He seemed to be part man, part mechanical wolf, part mechanical tiger. He was nothing more than a gigantic monster.

"Who are you?" I asked in awe.

" I am an officer of NANO, sent to take care of you, Terra Firma." He answered. "You can call me Rage."

"Well Rage, let's see how tough you are. TERRA HENSHIN!" I yelled as I punched a hole in the ground. Rocks covered me and shattered, revealing my Terra form armor. I placed my palm to the ground and the earth reformed into an axe, which I plucked from the ground. "EARTHEN BATTLE AXE!" I yelled.

Rage charged at me. He tried to claw me, but I blocked his hand with my axe, chopping it in half. But his hand began to glow, and then the part I just chopped off miraculously regrew. I was shocked for a second, but I shook it off. I sliced at him again, but every time, the respective appendage regrew. I knew I had to finish this quick, or I was a goner. The axe in my hand grew to astonishing proportions and I wheeled it around before swinging it wildly.

When I was done I rested it on my shoulder and muttered. "Earthen Battle Axe...Wild Strike" When I finished my sentence, Rage's arms and legs fell off.

"HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING, KAMEN RIDER? ILL JUST REGROW MY LIMBS!" energy coursed to the stubs once again, but nothing happened. "WHAT?" he yelled.

"Quite simple really. You regrow your limbs with the special alloy NANO uses to create its monsters. Metal is simply refined stone. I used my terrakinesis to remove all of it from the immediate area where I was cutting and merge it into my axe before I attacked. Why do you think it grew so much." I said. I merged the axe back into the earth before going into my finisher mode, with stone covering everything except the visor. I locked onto his chest and then jumped into the air. "EARTHEN KICK!" I yelled as I kicked the monstrosity square in the chest. It fell over, but no explosion occurred. Instead, when the smoke cleared he stood unharmed.

"You did well, Terra Firma. We won't underestimate you again" he said as he walked away.

"I hope you don't" I said. "And when you return, I'll be ready." I said, glaring at him as he walked away.

**End Chapter 3**

The lieutenants begin to appear…dun dun dun!


	4. Chapter 4: Friends No More

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen rider…sadly.

**Kamen Rider Terra Firma**

**Chapter 4: Friends No More**

"Normal with Quotations" Is speech

'_Italicized with apostrophes'_ is thought (not italicized in flashbacks)

_Italicized text is flashbacks "with quotations for speech during flashback"_

**Bold text** is a narration.

_Present time…approximate date…December 1__st__… 2010…_

**It's the holiday season once again. NANO hasn't made any recent moves as of yet. Gaia erased all of the memories of those who were attacked, including my friends and my sisters. She wiped the memories of those who were transformed into Cyborgs as well. I have been honing my abilities in these past few months of peace and have mastered most of them. But I have this feeling in my gut that something horrible is about to happen…that this is simply the beginning…the beginning of the end.**

_At school_

I sat there, reluctantly taking notes in my Algebra II class. I looked over at Ace, and from the look on his face, I could tell that he was thinking about something. He was looking out the window, spacing out, as opposed to his usual amount of focus.

'_Soon…'_ Ace thought _'It will begin. Just like she told me…'_

_Flashback…_

_Ace was walking to his house, having to go on a grocery run for his family. He suddenly stopped as he noticed a beautiful woman dressed in clothing made of leaves and flowers_

"_Hello young man…" she said. "How would you like to save the world?"_

_End flashback…_

I groaned under my breath. _'Ace hasn't talked to me in a while'_ I thought.

Ace looked over and glared at me, which startled me.

'_What the hell was that about?' _ I thought.

_Later…as I walked home…_

I sipped on a Slurpee I bought from 7/11 as I walked home that day. It was already dark out; school changed the schedule so it didn't finish till 4:00. I looked around and noticed it was eerily quiet for this time of day. I then heard screaming as a couple cars drove by and noticed that a Cyborg was directly down the street. I dropped the Slurpee, threw it to the ground, and activated my gauntlet, lighting it ablaze.

"PYRO HENSHIN!"

As I cried out my command to the gauntlet I was swallowed in flames, which dispersed as my armor formed around me. I proceeded to summon the inferno daggers and toss them at the Cyborg, nailing it in the eye. It screeched in pain and then turned to me. I proceeded to charge at it but a large projectile-like gust of wind swirled landed in front of me stopping me in my tracks. I looked up towards its origins and noticed a figure standing there. He leaped down in front of me. The man in front of me was not a Cyborg…but a Kamen Rider.

At first I thought the Rider before me was Kamen Rider Eternal, but then I noticed the numeral immense differences on his armor. Where there was blue coloring, it was now a shining dark grey color, and the bracers now were styled to resemble swirled gusts of wind. The same was true of the two horns that extruded from his head, which swirled up towards the top. The eye pieces were now grey as was the cape, which now had cloud patterns on the bottom of it. The left hand bore a silver gauntlet similar to mine with the symbol being a cloud to represent air.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"I am the guardian of the earth. You may call me…Kamen Rider Tempest." He said. He extended his hand out in front of me and fired a gust of air at me, which a blocked with a shield of fire.

"What are you doing? We're both guardians, why aren't you going after the Cyborg?" I asked

"Don't play that game with me, traitor. You're working for NANO! YOU sold your soul for the power you now have! YOU BETRAYED THE EARTH!" Tempest screamed as he extended his hand. Wind swirled in his hand and formed a javelin, which he threw at me. I narrowly dodged it, the javelin barely hitting my shoulder, but it still injured me.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" I screamed in response

"GAIA TOLD ME EVERYTHING! YOU'RE WORKING FOR NANO, AS ONE OF THEIR GENERALS! YOU COMMAND THESE CYBORGS AND KILL THEM WHEN THEY'RE WEAK OR DISOBEDIENT! YOU'RE NOT A HERO! YOU'RE A TYRANT!" Tempest yelled, throwing another javelin.

This time I had had enough and I grabbed the javelin just before it reached me. I sucked in the air and used it as fuel for a fireball I launched at Tempest. He formed a vacuum in front of him which extinguished the flames.

"Not bad." I said.

"Likewise. But I don't have time for this." said Tempest. He slammed the dial on his wrist and his eye pieces lit up. Air started to swirl and compress around his fist as he began to initiate his finisher. "I have to stop the Cyborg you unleashed, Kevin."

"Wait how do you know my name?" I asked, surprised. When I finished my sentence he was in front of me.

"AERO FIST!" Tempest screamed, launching a punch at my head which I barely dodged.

I somersaulted out of the way and activate my own finisher, my red eye pieces lighting up and white flame engulfing my fist.

_In the Grand Forest_

Memories flashed before Gaia's eyes as she recalled the defeat of the last guardians she had recruited to protect the earth. She came too and gasped in horror.

"No…" she said "It's happening again"

Gaia summoned a gate to the battle and ran off.

_Back at the battle_

"White flame is the hottest fire there is. One punch and you'll be fried." I said

A visible barrier formed around the pocket of air he made around his fist. "This is a pocket of sheer pressurized air. If I punch you with it it'll be like explosive decompression. All your organs will be sucked out of the hole I punch in you." Tempest said.

Gaia got here at last. She saw us charging our finishers powers and started to run at us. "DON'T DO IT! STOP!"

But her cries fell on deaf ears. We charged at each other and let the punches go wild. Our fists collided and everything within 50 feet was engulfed in flame. Thankfully Gaia made a dome to protect the surrounding buildings and people. When the majority of the blast had subsided, Gaia lowered the barrier. The instant she did, Tempest and I flew out and crashed into buildings on opposite sides of the street. I got up and painfully walked to the middle of the street. Tempest fell out of his hole and groaned as he stood up shakily.

"How are you able to walk?" Tempest asked.

"I cauterized the wounds to the point I couldn't feel the nerves" I groaned. "It's not a wise idea but it'll have to do until I can get properly healed."

"Nice trick…but not good enough." He said as his head snapped up. He rushed me and punched me in the gut and I fell to the ground in pain.

"Damn it…who are you?" I groaned as my armor fizzled away.

"You should've guessed it by now 'buddy'." Tempest said. He tapped his gauntlet with his index finger and his helmet blew away into the breeze. Underneath it…was Ace.

"Ace…? But…why?" I asked, baffled.

"You'll find out when I right the wrongs you've done." Ace said. "Now I have to deal with that NANO cyborg you let loose, Kevin."

"No…no no no no no." I said. I tried to overcome the pain and started crawling in the direction Ace went. "Ace! Ace! ACE!"

The last thing I saw before I passed out was Gaia kneeling in front of me and opening a gate. As I slipped into unconsciousness a thought ran through my head. And somehow I knew ace was thinking the same thing.

'_This is the beginning of the end…from here on out this is a battle to protect the Earth. From her on out…we are__** friends no more.'**_

CHAPTER END

Well that's that. Damn it feels good to write a new chapter for Terra Firma. Before the flames begin, I know the chapter was short and the plot was predictable. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE. I needed it to be. Why? Keep reading and you'll find out. Oh how I can see the flames now!


	5. Chapter 5: New Resolve

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen rider…sadly.

**Kamen Rider Terra Firma**

**Chapter 5: New Resolve**

"Normal with Quotations" Is speech

'_Italicized with apostrophes'_ is thought (not italicized in flashbacks)

_Italicized text is flashbacks or a change in location/time period "with quotations for speech during flashback"_

**Bold text** is a narration.

**My name is Kevin Carlile. I am Kamen Rider Terra Firma, guardian of the planet Earth. I was recruited by Gaia, Mother Earth, to protect humanity from a group of robotic aliens who call themselves NANO. They use their nanorobotics technology to turn humans into their cybernetic slaves. Up until recently, I was the only guardian. I was a hero to the people. And I loved it. That is…until they got Ace, my best friend. They somehow got their hands on the other gauntlet and turned him into a guardian, tricked into fighting for their side. It shouldn't be possible…I want answers and I want them now. **

_December 13__th__, 2010._

I woke up dazed and confused. I was lying on a soft bed of leaves in the Grand Forest, a small isle hidden from humanity by Gaia herself so that it may serve as a sanctuary for herself and her Guardians. I wasn't here when I passed out…then it all came back to me. Ace being Tempest, him and I fighting and destroying buildings…the betrayal.

"What…no…Ace…NOOOO!" I screamed as the images flooded my mind. It didn't make sense…I felt sick to my stomach. I rolled over and vomited on the grass beside me. Once I was done I stared at the same spot in a daze. Then I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder. Snapping out of my self-induced trance, I turned and saw Gaia. She smiled down at me and sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness you're all right, Kevin." She said.

"I'm fine…but Ace…" I said, curling into a ball.

"Ace is far beyond our help now. We must see him as an enemy." She said in a monotone, serious voice.

My ear twitched. I gripped her wrist and pulled her hand off my shoulder. "The enemy…? My best friend?" I heard my heart thump. "You want me to believe that for no good reason my best friend, my BROTHER, has WILLINGLY become an agent of NANO? HAS BETRAYED THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE?" Fire flared from my back and shoulders.

"Kevin, calm down." Gaia said, exasperated.

"NO I WILL NOT!" I said, flame engulfing my entire body, and Gaia flinching away. "YOU TOLD ME A GUARDIAN WAS SOMEONE WHO WAS COMPASSIONATE! SOMEONE WHO CARED FOR THEIR FELLOW MAN! IF YOU WANT ME TO RENOUNCE THAT AND LET ACE BE TAKEN BY THESE BEASTS, THEN I'LL BURN YOU AND THIS WHOLE GOD DAMN FOREST TO THE GROUND!"

A ball of fire erupted around me, my eyes red with fury. I stared at Gaia, who was laying on the ground in shock. I looked around myself, seeing scorched earth and burned trees in a 10 foot circle around me. I took a few deep breaths and the large fireball aura around me dissipated.

"If you want me to turn on my friends…then find someone else to be a guardian." I said, crossing my arms as I offered the ultimatum

Gaia blinked at me, then stood up and dusted herself off. "You were right in your argument Kevin. I was testing your resolve. We can save Ace…but first, you must know how he became a guardian." Gaia's eyes turned completely white and the forest disappeared beneath us. Suddenly we were hovering above a quarry.

"What the? Gaia where are we?" I asked, baffled.

"The year is 1971. This was the last time I picked a pair of guardians. They are there." Gaia pointed to the center of the quarry. Below us were older versions of Terra Firma and Tempest, their armors resembling those of Kamen Riders 1&2 respectively.

"Why are they fighting each other?" I asked.

"Go listen for yourself, young one. We cannot change anything here. It is solely an image." Gaia said. I jumped down to the quarry below and circled the pair as they fought.

"You traitor!" Terra Firma said "How could you do this to me? To our friends? To the earth?" My predecessor threw a few punches, but they were blocked.

"I had no choice _!" Tempest said. It sounded as if the name was muted out. "Earth doesn't…WE don't stand a chance against NANO! If I'm going to fight, I'd rather fight for someone who's going to win!"

"You'd sell out your entire species to save yourself? …You arrogant, selfish, traitorous, BASTARD!" the Terra Firma of old was engulfed in flame. His armor had turned black like charcoal, and cracks on it were glowing, as if there was a hidden power beneath it.

"Gaia…what?" I asked.

"Shhh…watch." Gaia said.

"I'll use every ounce of my power to make sure you never get the chance to turn over our secrets to NANO! MAGMA FIST!"

And with that last scream, the vision faded.

"Gaia… what did I just see?" I asked

"That was Terra Firma's Volcano Form. A mixture of the Pyro and Terra Firma Forms, it combines the power of earth and flame, allowing the guardian to manipulate magma and geothermic heat." Gaia said.

"Then…why can't I access it? And what does that vision have to do with Ace becoming a guardian?" I asked, puzzled.

"I never intended for the Guardians to use their powers in unison unless they were in dire need of it. As such, the combination forms can only be accessed under extreme physical and emotional circumstances. Your heart and body must be pushed to their absolute limit. That form cannot be obtained through training." Gaia said. She then leaned forward. "Do NOT seek it out. On the topic of your friend…that was how his alliance with NANO began."

"How so?" I asked

"When the previous Tempest betrayed me (and the rest of the planet for that matter), he took his knowledge and his power gauntlet to NANO and gave it to them." Gaia responded

"But you said the gauntlets are pre-sequenced to the DNA of the next guardian. How could they do that?" I asked

"Simple. They used their nanobots to resequence the sample DNA in the gauntlet." Gaia said.

"That'd do it I suppose" I shrugged. "So how do we get Ace back? He didn't seem like he was mind-controlled or anything, just angry."

"I noticed. That is why I have come to the conclusion that NANO didn't force him into this, but rather tricked him into it." Gaia said

"Ace isn't exactly the gullible type…but he is compassionate. If he felt people were in danger, he'd believe it." I said, pondering the idea.

"I realize this." Gaia said. "Which is why I have decided to go into extensive research on the subject. So far nothing, but I shall keep trying. We need all the help we can get."

I was about to speak, but I heard the cry of a NANO cyborg in my head. Gaia nodded out me and I headed out my self-made gate and into the city.

_The city park..._

I ran toward the screams emanating from the center of the park. People were running every direction, frantically trying to reach safety. The park was burning to the ground around me as I ran toward the danger the civilians were fleeing from. I activated my gauntlet, turned the dial, and stuck my hand into one of the fires. The gauntlet caught fire and burned a deep crimson.

"HENSHIN!" I yelled as the fire engulfed me, transforming me into Kamen Rider Terra Firma, Pyro Form.

I stopped as I finally found my target. The creature before me was more advanced than its predecessors, sleeker and more refined. It had 4 eyes stretching across its forehead and a mouthful of razor sharp teeth. Its legs, forearms and head were covered in red fur and built into its wrists were flamethrowers. I formed two fire daggers and began furiously slashing at this beast, barely penetrating its armor.

"I thought fighting fire with fire was supposed to be effective." I scoffed as I tried to land another attack.

"AQUA TORNADO!"

I heard the scream and instinctively dodged out of the way of Tempest's attack. A cone of water surrounded him as he executed a drill kick into the chest of the Cyborg. The creature hissed as it exploded and its host fell into the pile of scrap metal that remained of NANO's misdeeds.

Ace, as Tempest still, stood up in the crater. His armor was blue over the standard black body suit. The helmet had two horns over its large yellow eyes in the shape of two tidal waves about to collide. The gauntlets had golden trim and had a pattern of mist forming clouds along the forearms. The same pattern ran up his shins, and at the knees were grey storm clouds. The chest piece seemed to have water dripping down and collecting at the bottom.

"You got water too, old friend?" I said as we started circling each other

"Of course. This is my Aqua form." He said as he started conjuring something of water in his palm.

"Ace, you're my friend. I don't want to fight you. Listen to me! You're fighting against one of the good guys!" I pleaded, trying to reason with him.

"LIAR!" Ace screamed as his construct solidified. In his palm was no longer a torrent of water, but a large naganata. He swung it at me and a blade of water was flung in my direction. I punched the ground as I dodged the attack.

"TERRA HENSHIN!" I said as rock covered my body then shattered, forming my armor into its Terra form. I plucked my Earthen Battleaxe from the ground and charged at Tempest.

I swung my heavy axe but he easily parried my attack. He stabbed my twice in the chest, almost piercing my armor. I separated my large axe into two medium-sized hatchets and started my next assault. I swung the first axe so that it caught his blade and then used the other to chop his weapon in two. I then did a rotating slash, hooking the blades into his chest piece. I then roundhouse kicked him and sent him flying into a nearby tree. He groaned and stood up. A swirl of water from nowhere propelled him into the air and he escaped.

I glared up at him then sighed and let my armor crumble away. I looked up at the huge get of water and cursed to myself.

"_Don't worry Ace…" _I thought to myself. _"I'll rescue you. That is my RESOLVE."_

End of Chapter

Ahahahahahahaha! My block is gone! For this fic anyway. Yeah I'm ditching that rotation thing…have writers block for Saisho. Anyway, sorry for my absence, friends. I've been busy with my social life. and personal bullcrap. ill try to post as much as possible. Later everyone


	6. Chapter 6: Sudden Changes

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen rider…sadly.

**Kamen Rider Terra Firma**

**Chapter 6: Sudden Changes**

"Normal with Quotations" Is speech

'_Italicized with apostrophes'_ is thought (not italicized in flashbacks)

_Italicized text is flashbacks or a change in location/time period "with quotations for speech during flashback"_

**Bold text** is a narration.

**My name is Kevin Carlile. I am Kamen Rider Terra Firma, guardian of the planet Earth. I was recruited by Gaia, Mother Earth, to protect humanity from a group of robotic aliens who call themselves NANO. They use their nanorobotics technology to turn humans into their cybernetic slaves. Up until recently, I was the only guardian. I was a hero to the people. And I loved it. That is…until they got Ace, my best friend. He has been tricked into fighting for NANO as Kamen Rider Tempest. He and I have clashed several times in the past few weeks…I have entered my junior year now. It's been rough, but I'm making it. But I have a feeling things are going to change soon.**

_3__rd__ hour class, October 21__st_

I sat at my desk taking notes for my class, chemistry this hour. I looked up and saw the teacher get a slip from an aide from the office. I could see someone standing behind him, hiding.

"Well everyone it seems we have a new student" the teacher pulled the new girl out from behind the messenger, who left. "Everyone this is Nina Foxglove"

The new girl shyly darted her emerald eyes from one corner to the next, and I noticed the dark brown skin on her cheeks turn a pinkish shade as she brushed some of her white, almost silver, hair from her eyes. She had a petite frame, but her hips and large chest stood out against her thin limbs and waist. She wore black jeans that clung to her legs and a deep crimson shirt that said "bite me" in bold black letters.

"We're doing a lab today boys and girls. Kevin, you still don't have a partner right? Nina, you can be Kevin's partner for the rest of the semester" said the teacher

"Okay…" Nina said in a sheepish tone. I showed her to the lab station and got her some safety goggles and an apron. Today we were using different chloride solutions to change the color of the flame produced by the Bunsen burner. I dabbed a cotton swab in the potassium chloride solution and held it in the flame. The indigo flame from the burner turned a lavender color. I looked over to Nina and noticed a sparkle in her eyes and a mischievous smile on her face.

"Got a little bit of pyro in you, hmm?" I asked, laughing

"Yes…a little" she said, blushing again.

"Here do this one" I said handing her a cotton swab dipped in copper chloride. She put it in the flame and they turned an emerald green. She smiled and started laughing. It was strange, but I couldn't help but laugh along with her. The people in the class stared at us but suddenly all their Bunsen burners "accidentally" flared up and they went back to their experiments. I smirked at the small panic I had created.

_End of the school day_

I decided to walk home with Nina; apparently she was my new neighbor.

"So where're you from?" I asked her

"I'm from Kansas but I was born here so we moved back." Nina said

'_You couldn't have moved back at a worse time, doll face'_ I thought to myself

"Kevin?" Nina asked

"What?"

"I asked if you were born here." She said

"Oh… sorry. I do that from time to time" I said

We arrived at our houses. She typed her number into my phone and went into her home. I went into my room and laid down on my bed, smiling to myself.

"Maybe things are changing" I said to myself. "Maybe things will get easier from here." I then felt the familiar twinge of Gaia's warning signal and frowned. "Seems I spoke too soon." I shook my head, grabbed my glove, and dashed out the door.

When I got to the town square, everything was in ruin. I couldn't recognize a single thing. I looked around, and Ace arrived just as I did.

"I didn't do this, Ace." I said, sliding my glove on my right hand slowly and it transformed into my Terra Firma Gauntlet.

Ace took out a white glove and slipped it on his left hand and it transformed into the silver Tempest Gauntlet. "I've heard it before Kevin." Air swirled up his gauntlet as stone encased mine.

"HENSHIN!" we both called out as we charged at each other. I transformed into my Terra Form and Ace into his Aero Form.

Our fight began, with both of us quickly throwing and blocking punches from the other. He tried to land a roundhouse kick but I grabbed his ankle and flipped him.

"You can't win against this form Ace. No matter how hard the wind blows" I said "The Mountains still stand."

"That may be" Ace replied "But there is such a thing as erosion!"

Ace was starting to gather a gust of wind between his palms when we heard a voice from above. Standing atop one of the few remaining buildings were seven metallic beings. The furthest to the left was a figure recognized.

"Rage." I said. "Was wondering when you'd return."

"And I brought my allies." He said. "We are the lieutenants of NANO, the 7 deadly sins humanity commits. And we shall destroy humanity itself." He started to mutate to his animalistic form. "I am Rage; I represent the sin of WRATH!" He leapt down at us and clawed across Ace's chest.

Next to rage was an extremely obese creature that resembled a robotic humanoid armadillo. "My name is Dakui! I represent the sin of GLUTTONY!" he curled up and rolled over me, cracking the stone that encased my body. When I looked back I was missing a shoulder plate and he was eating it.

The next one was a thin female with cal like feet and cat claws attached to her fingertips. Her pupils were slits in the middle of her red eyes. Her black hair had streaks of red. She flipped down with amazing agility and landed in front of me, putting a clawed finger under my chin. "My name is Asura. I represent the sin of LUST…" She flicked my helmet and it shattered and she bit my face. She smirked as blood trickled down my cheek. "Oh too bad this one's kind of cute." She kicked me into the wall next across the street with a seductive laugh.

The figure in the center remained standing as he sent down the only other girl among them. She was coated in metal and wore a leather skirt and jacket. Her hair was a lime green. Appropriate for what she said next. She jumped and landed in front of Ace pouting. "No fair Asura…I wanted to mess with him. I'm jealous…ah well I get this one" she said picking up Ace and dissolving his helmet. "Oh not bad at all. My name is Lady Mave… and I represent the sin of ENVY!"

The next was a squirrely short man who darted between buildings with a mad look of desire in his eyes. He grasped Ace's left hand and then dashed over and grabbed my right. "Your gauntlets…I want them. So I'll RIP THEM OFF YOUR CORPSES! MY NAME IS MARTIN AND I REPRESENT THE SIN…OF AVARICE!" he said as he slammed us into the ground.

The biggest and bulkiest stood there arms crossed. "I don't enjoy fighting…I like to watch it happen. My name is Taida... I represent the sin of Sloth…"

The center figure rolled his eyes and jumped down, looking like a robot in a trenchcoat and a fedora. "I am the leader of the Sins. I am Jason. I represent the sin of Pride. We will be the end of you Kamen Riders and the rest of this miserable planet."

I gripped some asphalt and allowed it to creep up my armor, reforming the missing pieces. A gust of wind brought back Ace's helmet. We stood and I glanced at him.

"Truce?"

"TEMPORARY truce, Kevin."

I nodded and plunged my hands into the earth, pillars of stone erupting near each of the Sins, corralling each of them into separate areas. A gust of wind blew into the pillars as they were cut down by Asura. She jumped, grabbing Martin, Jason, and Taida. The remaining Sins fell down and were blown into a nearby wall I conjured. I boxed them in with four more and ace switched into his aqua form, filling the box with water as they stumbled to their feet. I jumped up, quickly switching to my Pyro form and plunged my hand into the water, which began to boil. The Sins screamed in pain and leapt from the water into the air. They looked down and noticed me and Ace, who was back in Aero form, the two of us conjuring balls of fire and air respectively.

"PYRO TWISTER!" We said, pushing our fists out and creating a swirling blast of air that scorched the three remaining Sins; Rage, Mave, and Dakui. They were buckled over in pain but still stood. We however, had spent all of our power and collapsed, our armors fading away. Jason appeared and opened his trenchcoat, his teammates fading into it.

"You Riders are a disappointment. I could end you here and now. But I'm more powerful in you and there would be no challenge." Jason boasted "So we shall wait till you're sharper, more powerful, or at least on the same side. Until then, Riders."

He faded and Ace and I glanced at each other.

"See Ace?" I gasped. "We still work together well."

Ace scowled at me. "The truce will be over when next we meet, Kevin…but I do agree…we do good work. A shame you use your talents to aid the forces of darkness." He walked into an archway of water, I assumed to his base, and Gaia pulled me into the grand forest.

"Kevin, what happened?" Asked Gaia.

"Everything's changing. We might lose this war Gaia." I replied sadly.

**END CHAPTER**

**A/N: **OH MY GOD I have been gone for way too long. Anywhoser, im back (as much as I ever am). I have major crap going on in my life atm, so updates are going to be spaced. Well I have 2 new things coming out

New chap for geass rider skull

A one-shot crossover between back to the future and kamen rider. Serves as a den-o origin.

Until then, later!


	7. Chapter 7: New Year, New Dangers

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen rider…sadly.  
Author's note: I'm back…again. My life has been hectic and my mind a blur recently, so I haven't been writing. I'll try to write more often from here on out. Anyway, this chapter serves as both a re-introduction to old characters, and a full introduction to new ones, as well as advances the plot. Basically, this is kind of a…season 2 for Terra Firma. And yes, I skipped straight into the relationship between Kevin and Nina. I have partial writers block still. Hope you guys enjoy! R&R flames ignored, as always.

**Kamen Rider Terra Firma**

**Chapter 7: New Year, New Dangers**

"Normal with Quotations" Is speech

'_Italicized with apostrophes'_ is thought or telepathic speech (is not italicized in flashbacks)

_Italicized text is flashbacks or a change in location/time period "with quotations for speech during flashback"_

**Bold text** is a narration.

**My name is Kevin Carlile. I am Kamen Rider Terra Firma, guardian of the planet Earth. I was recruited by Gaia, Mother Earth, to protect humanity from a group of robotic aliens who call themselves NANO. They use their nanorobotics technology to turn humans into their cybernetic slaves. Up until recently, I was the only guardian. I was a hero to the people. And I loved it. That is…until they got Ace, my best friend. He has been tricked into fighting for NANO as Kamen Rider Tempest. He and I have clashed several times in the past few weeks…I have entered my junior year now. It's been rough, but I'm making it. Things have started changing…a new girl, Nina Foxglove moved into town from Kansas about 2 months ago. Around Thanksgiving, we started dating. I haven't been this happy in a long time…not since NANO dug their grubby hands into my life. Ace is warming up to me a bit…I have no idea what the future holds for us…and with the appearance of the Sins, the lieutenants of NANO, …things are getting riskier.**

_December 31__st__, 2011_

I yawned as I woke up, rubbed my eyes, and proceeded to put in my contacts. I went into the bathroom and splashed my face, wiping away the fog from my sleep. I looked at myself. I'd taken on a new look in the recent times. My dirty blonde hair was cut short, my eyebrows trimmed to a manageable size (Nina held me down and trimmed my eyebrows) and my face clean shaven, letting my pale white skin through. I stared into my light green eyes, with the small branches of gold reaching out from my pupil. I saw in my eyes the sadness for the losses I'd suffered, and hope for the things to come. I went into my room and pulled on my dark blue and gold tinted slim jeans and dark grey shirt, which had become my signature outfit since Christmas. I grabbed my new leather jacket with black fleece lining, light gray stripes running down both arms and pulled it on. I put on socks and my white and blue tennis and was ready for the day. I trotted out my door and knocked on the door to Nina's house.

"WAKEY WAKEY PRETTY LADY!" I called, in my customary fashion.

"Just a minute Kevin!" Called Nina

I waited at the door and soon enough, Nina opened the door. I stared at her, a stupid smile on my face. Her silver hair was cut short on one side, up to her ears and teased upward, while the other side hung down to her shoulders. She wore black skinny jeans and a bright blue shirt. She wore my grey sweat jacket, which I gave her in November, and it hung loosely from her small frame. She wore two necklaces with rings on them, each ring depicting Jack and Sally from _The_ _Nightmare Before Christmas_. One of the rings showed the two characters embracing, with an inscription of "We're simply meant to be" along the band. They were my Christmas present to her. She smiled her radiant smile and hugged me tight, and I smiled and hugged her back.

"Ready for the day my dear?" I said, bowing like an Englishman

"Sure love" she said, giggling.

We walked downtown, my hand holding hers, into our favorite restaurant, a little pizza joint named Angelina's. I ordered slices for the two of us and we ate and laughed. I then paid for the food and we walked along the river, our typical date. I saw the water in the river swirl and noticed ace standing across the river.

He, too had changed his appearance. He seemed to be a kind of opposite to me. He wore a bright red t-shirt and light blue jeans and a white jacket. His long brown hair reached down to his neck, and his blue eyes swirled with a combination of confusion and hatred. I hurried Nina along, but he appeared in front of us nonetheless.

"Come on Ace, I'm on a date with Nina right now, can't we settle this later?" I asked, subconsciously stepping in front of Nina to protect her. I noticed a slight flicker from my glove.

"All I came here to do was to ask you to meet me here later, Kevin…A pleasure, Ms. Foxglove" Ace said, walking away.

"What was that about?" Asked Nina

"A bit of a feud…but nothing to worry your pretty little head about, my sweet." I said, kissing her cheek. We finished our date around 5:00 PM.

After a long day of doing chores I went back to the river at 11:30 PM to find Ace standing in the middle of the current.

"You're going to start a religious argument if you stay there too long." I said sarcastically

He laughed a little bit "No need for that…" he said walking hurriedly towards me. I gripped my glove in defense, ready for the attack

"I am not here to fight you Kevin." He said, showing he was not wearing his glove.

"Then what do you want…friend?" I asked, trying to remain calm.

"Before the year is out, I want to know how and when you got your powers." He said, completely serious, a darkness I've never seen looming in his eyes.

"I got them from Gaia…on the first day of school. She told me I had been chosen to be a guardian of the earth. She said I had 'the capacity to make anything reality.' So she gave me this." I said, turning my glove into its gauntlet form. "and dubbed me Kamen Rider Terra Firma"

"I see…." Ace said

"Now it's your turn, Ace. How did you get the Tempest Gauntlet…Gaia said it was lost in the 70's." I said sternly

"It's a bit of a longer story than yours" Said Ace "I could show you…if you let me into your mind."

"I still trust you ace…but if I feel you prodding into my memories then I'm shutting it down and we'll settle this like we did last time." I said. I closed my eyes and I opened my mind, letting the images flow in.

_Flashback…_

_Ace was walking to his house, having to go on a grocery run for his family. He suddenly stopped as he noticed a woman dressed in clothing made of leaves and twigs approaching him from an ally. Her clothing seemed crumpled like the leaves that fall from trees and get stepped on, but they flowed seamlessly into the design of the dress. The dress was cut short, stopping halfway down her thigh. Her hair was up in a bun with a few stray strands sticking out. _

'She's beautiful' _thought Ace_ 'in a rough, almost seductive way.'

"_Hello young man…" she said. "How would you like to save the world?"_

"_Who are you? What do you want?" he asked_

"_I am Gaia…Mother Earth herself. And I've come to inform you that your best friend has betrayed you"_

"_Kevin? He would never betray me in any way" said Ace_

"_HA! You are truly ignorant then. Let me show you what he has done." Gaia said_

_A portal appeared in front of ace and showed him images of Kevin accepting the Terra Firma Gauntlet from Rage of NANO and showed him commanding NANO cyborgs. It also showed Terra Firma's battles with Cyborgs, but showed how these were seemingly just unsatisfactory soldiers._

"_I…I can't believe he'd do this. Betraying the entire human race?" Ace said, quivering with rage._

"_I know Ace. Now would you like the chance to bring him down, maybe bring him back to his senses?" Asked Gaia_

"…_How?" Asked Ace_

"_I will give you the counterpart to his Terra Firma Gauntlet, the Tempest Gauntlet, which will allow you to transform into Kamen Rider Tempest, who manipulates Air and Water just as Terra Firma manipulates Earth and Fire. You can defeat him and in the process, NANO."said Gaia, pulling the silver gauntlet from seemingly nowhere_

"…_I'll do it. For Earth." Said Ace, extending his hand._

_Gaia smiled an evil, jagged smile that unsettled ace then fastened the gauntlet to his hand. In a shine of white, he was bonded to the Tempest Gauntlet, and knew everything about being Kamen Rider Tempest._

"_Thank you, Gaia." Ace said_

"_Now one more thing, Ace…don't ever attempt to contact me. You're not worth it. I'll send you missions when the time comes. In the mean time, train…and train hard." Gaia said, and then she tossed him away with what appeared to be a blaze of red fire._

End Flashback…

I closed my mind and cracked my knuckles. Such blatant LIES to Ace to make him work for nano…but from his description he did meet Gaia. I had to figure out what was going on. I reached out telepathically to my friend, mentor, and goddess of the earth, Gaia, and spoke with her.

'_Gaia…can you hear me?'_ I asked

'_Yes, Kevin, I am here. What do you need?'_ Gaia responded

'_I'm speaking with ace. He told me of how he met you, or someone who resembled you, and they gave him his gauntlet. What should I do?'_ I asked

'_Hmm…I'm not too sure. What did he say?_' Gaia asked

I showed her the images that Ace had showed me. And for a brief moment there was silence.

'_Kevin…do you trust Ace?'_ Gaia asked

'_Like a brother.' _I replied

'…_open a portal to the Grand Forest'_ she said

'_What?'_ I asked, shocked

'_Do it Kevin. If he is worthy of the trust you invest in him, than this shouldn't prove an issue. We can sort this out like rational people.' _She said

I sighed and placed my hand to the ground.

"What are you doing Kevin? Why were you so quiet?" Ace asked

"I was talking with Gaia. And I'm taking you to talk with her too" I said

"B-but Gaia said I could never speak with her. She is above me!" Ace said

I mumbled curses regarding his ignorance and my general disdain for his situation. I shrugged off my boiling anger and summoned the gate of stone. The gateway was filled with white light and when we walked through into the Grand Forest

"What is this place?" Asked Ace

"This is the Grand Forest, home to Gaia and the Guardians…well one of them anyway" I said calmly

"This is amazing…" He said

Gaia stepped from the shadows. She wore her usual gown made of brown and yellow leaves and vines that formed diagonal stripes running down her body. Her wavy brown hair reached down to her shoulders with highlights of blonde resembling sunlight. She wore a tiara made of white branches and golden leaves. Her skin was what most girls would call the "ideal tan" and she had a supernatural glow about her. All in all, she was beautiful. Then again, she is a goddess. This was the form she always chose to show to me and, I assumed, most humans that saw her.

"Hello Ace. Kevin has told me much about you. Welcome to the grand forest" Said Gaia.

"You don't look like you did when I first met you." Said Ace.

"Ace…Keth "Ace" Baeldar. We have never met" Gaia said

"Keth…Baeldar?" I asked.

"Forgotten my name already, Kevin?" asked Ace

"Hey I've always called you Ace" I said

"Boys, focus!" Boomed Gaia

We flinched just a bit and focused on her. Ace decided to resume conversation after a few moments.

"Gaia, what do you mean we've never met? That night in the ally-"

"Keth, I have not materialized on the Earth's surface since the days of the ancient Greeks. It causes panic and mass hysteria…especially so since Christianity has risen." Gaia said flatly

"But in that ally you came to me, looking totally different…" Ace said, baffled

"_I_ came to you, fool." Said a voice that sounded like Gaia.

We looked over and we saw the Gaia of Ace's vision stepping through a portal. She was smirking and laughing evilly. I looked baffled.

"Who are you?" I asked

"That's Gaia" Ace said

"Obviously not" Gaia said as she ensnared the imposter in vines

"You were an invaluable tool Ace" Said the impostor "Now NANO can destroy Gaia's last refuge."

"But…what?" Ace said, stumbling back

"How did you get here?" Gaia asked

"When rock boy over there opened his portal it left an energy signature behind. I mimicked it and re-opened his rock gate. Simple, really." She chuckled

"But…you said I was going to save the world…" Said ace, who was obviously panicking

The impostor laughed and slashed through the vines with sharp, metal, cat-like claws that protruded from her fingernails. She struck a cat like pose and her skin started to be coated in liquid silver and the bun undid itself, fluffing up to a lion like mane and turning a bright pink that reached down to her shoulders. Her teeth turned to fangs, her nails to razor-sharp claws and her pupils to slits, and whisker-like marks creeped up her cheeks. A cat like tail the length of her torso sprouted from just above where her butt was. The metal coating had now covered her entire body. I recognized her almost immediately.

"Asura. The sin of Lust." I said bitterly.

"I…I fought my best friend…I fought…against the WORLD. I fought…for HER? For NANO? NO..NO!" Ace sobbed, crumpling to his knees. Asura laughed and spoke to us in a condescending tone.

"Oh you humans are so utterly pathetic. You see a little forged video…hear a little sob story…have a few heartstrings tugged…and you turn to putty in my hands. Lust isn't just sexual desire lady and gentlemen…it spans into the yearning for what satisfies your very soul. Why do you think Martin and I get along so well?"

"HENSHIN!"

A sudden sound of a rockslide echoed through the grand forest and Asura turned to see myself, my Terra Firma armor forming over me, rushing at her. I slapped the dial on my gauntlet and leapt into the air and kicked her in the face and back through the portal.

She landed with a thud and skidded through the street.

"Earthen…Kick." I muttered as I landed.

"ooo…that kick had some oomf to it, Kevvy boy." She said, wiping blood from her mouth

"Shut your damn mouth RIGHT NOW. You're sick. You torment people for your own pleasure. I'm ridding this world of one of its sins right now." I said, assuming a fighting stance.

"HA! You're nothing little boy." Asura said, her tail swaying and her claws outstretched. A few moments passed and we charged.

I began gathering earth in both my hands, and they formed into two war axes resembling the Dwarven war axes from _Skyrim. _I slashed at her with the right axe and she dodged down and she clawed up my chest, gashing my armor. I was taken aback by the amount of damage but after analyzing how much damage she could do, I snapped into action and took a cautious stance. We exchanged slashes, but I seemed to make nothing more than minor scratches on her metal skin. We continued this deadly dance until she pinned me down and knocked away my axes. Just like last time she poked my helmet and it shattered away. She cupped my chin and squeezed my face.

"So cute…can't wait to mount you on my wall." Asura said lauging

"AERO LANCE"

A jet of air hit Asura square in the chest and she flew back and skidded across the street. I looked back and saw Tempest in his Aero Form. Ace tapped his gauntlet and his helmet blew away in the breeze

"Ace…what are you doing?" I asked, awe-struck.

"Redeeming myself" he said, extending a hand.

We clasped hands and he helped me up. We struck poses side by side and called out our names

"I AM KAMEN RIDER TERRA FIRMA! GUARDIAN OF EARTH AND FIRE!"

"I AM KAMEN RIDER TEMPEST! GUARDIAN OF WATER AND AIR!"

"WE ARE THE GUARDIANS OF THE EARTH! AND WE WILL NEVER LET HARM BEFALL ON THIS PLANET!"

"The two gauntlets together again" sighed Asura "Boss man ain't gonna like this."

And so the battle began. We charged in unarmed, throwing punches left and right, flanking her and not leaving openings. But with her cat-like agility and weaponry still gave her an advantage. She gashed at our armor left and right, easily taking the fight. Suddenly, the dark area between the three of us ignited and she dug her claws, which were set ablaze, into ace's neck. He groaned and stumbled back. I quickly changed to pyro form and started fighting back with my own fingers set aflame. Even with the equal weapons and agility, her strength was simply too great. She kicked me into a wall and I slumped down, sitting up against the wall and staring at her in a daze. Asura let out a sickening laugh

"Even with all four elements you cant even begin to compare yourselves to NANO. You're pathetic Kevin Carlile. 2012 will be the end of the world after all. And there's nothing you and your weak willed friend can do about it."

Ace stood again. "Never…talk about my best friend…my brother…like that. AERO…BO." A column of wind swirled into his hand and formed a crystal-clear Bo staff with etchings of wind along its length. He shrugged off his pain and charged at Asura with the staff in hand. He spun it and swung towards her head. She blocked so he spun and swung again. The blow connected but Asura shrugged it off. He swung again and again in a graceful dance, but the blows barely affected her. Eventually, she wrenched the staff from his hands and it dissolved into air. She buried her claws in his chest, collapsing his lungs. He fell back onto the ground. Asura laughed as we two Riders groaned in pain, helpless to do anything.

In the buildings and homes around me I heard the countdown to the New Year beginning. And with each count I took in new information and my heart beat harder.

5!

_Thump thump_

Ace coughed up blood.

4!

_Thump thump_

Asura continued to laugh.

3!

_Thump thump_

Gaia ran through the portal I had left open.

2!

_Thump thump_

I closed my eyes and entered a world within my own mind.

_In my mind..._

_All around me was earth. I was standing in a pitch black canyon under a full moon. the ground was covered in soft green grass. I stood and looked around._

"_hello?"_

_The canyon around me suddenly wreathed itself in flame. In the center of the canyon was a cage. Inside it was a man. He stood in a black gi with glowing red vein like patterns around it and a red belt tying the waist. He reeked of sulfur and smoke emanated from his body. His hair was a fiery red._

"_Who are you?" I asked_

"_Me? I am your rage. Your hate. Your desire for conflict. Your hidden power. My name is Arden…and I am the source of your negative emotions."_

"_Why are you caged up?" I asked cautiously_

"_So that you don't lose control. Only under the most extreme circumstances could you ever hope to learn to control me, Kevin. And then…and only then…would I show you your true power."_

"_Ace is going to die…the world will be destroyed…she's said and done so many horrible things…I need to save everyone…how do I let you out." I asked?_

"_Don't you see? That key around your neck…it should fit." He said._

_I looked down and a black key with a blank circle for a base hung from my neck. I took it off. "But where's the keyhole? Your cage doesn't seem to have one."_

_He looked at me and tapped the back of his hand. I looked down and my gauntlet was glowing. A keyhole formed on the mountain symbol that usually adorned it. I inserted the key reluctantly and twisted. A new dial was added to the gauntlet, surrounding the original. At first it was pointing the same direction as the original, vertically matching up as is usual for Terra Form. But then the second dial turned to the Pyro Form position and the mountain symbol was replaced by a black mountain lit aflame. Arden's cage swung open and he pounced on me._

_In the real world…_

1!

_Thump thump_

My eyes snapped open and I stood. I looked at my gauntlet and the new outer dial was there. I changed it so that it recreated the symbol in my mind. An image of Mt. Vesuvius filled my mind. I heard a small crack from my other arm and looked. My stone armor had cracked and fire was seeping through the crack. The crack started proceeding up my arm and across my chest and as the fiery cracks perforated my armor I let out a loud roar. The flames consumed my fire armor from the cracks and exploded outward, blackening the tan rock. My jade eyepieces turned a pulsating red orange, similar to a garnet gem. My mouthpiece turned from silver to gold. The top of my helmet exploded and was replaced by an ever-burning flame. The jagged rocks that were knee and elbow guards were replaced by rounded pulsating gems similar to the ones from my eyes. My shoulders exploded out and magma was visible in the now-rounded shoulder plates. The flames in the cracks died down and were glowing the glow of magma in a volcano.

I growled as I walked from the hole I was in, my footprints melting the asphalt beneath them. I struck a barbaric pose and called in a gruff voice

"I AM KAMEN RIDER TERRA FIRMA! VOLCANO FORM."

Asura was taken aback. She nervously laughed "So you changed colors. Big whoop. You're still no match for me."

She charged at me and tried to scratch me but I caught her hand.

"Geothermic Sword."

The asphalt split and magma rose from the earth and into my hand, then shaped and solidified into a sword resembling a Glass Sword from _Skyrim _(A/N: I've been playing a lot of skyrim ok?) but replacing the green ore of the blade was the same pulsating orange gem that made up various parts of my armor, and the gold of the handle was replaced with a shining black mineral. I took a swing and left a glowing red gash in her metallic skin. She screamed in pain.

"What is this?" She asked in pain

"When a Rider is pushed to his physical and mental limits, a power is tapped into. If you have the key to unlock that power, you gain control over it. That power combines the rider's two elemental powers and increases their physical abilities." I said and i formed another sword in my left hand and assumed a dual-wielding stance. "Shall we dance, Asura?"

She growled and lit her claws aflame and we charged. She swiped her claws left and I blocked with one sword while slashing the other at her right side, but she caught it. I flicked my wrist and the sword blocking her fist grazed her waist. She cringed and flipped back, lighting her claws ablaze. I in turn wreathed my swords in flame and we began the dance again. My swords had the reach, and I had the offensive advantage. Her armored skin was lighter than the metamorphic stone that now encased my armor, so she had the defensive advantage. With each swing I took, she dodged and made a quick swipe. Eventually I tossed my swords aside and concentrated. The rock on my fists melted and turned to magma and I began throwing punches. With each swipe, globs of molten rock flew from my gauntlets, melting the street beneath us. Each fist connected heating and melting her metallic skin. She reeled back and began to flee. My orange eyepieces flashed as I slapped the dial on my gauntlet and leapt into the air, homing in on the heat signature from her melted armor. I executed a drop kick aimed directly into her back. As I descended my feet heated more and more, the stone armor eventually melting and reforming eventually forming an aura akin to a satellite in reentry.

"ERUPTION DROP!"

The kick connected and the magma increased in volume and exploded upward in a pillar around her. She let out a horrid screech as she collapsed, unable to move from the burns. Gaia walked up with ace in her arms, a green glow emanating from her hands.

"Gaia…is Ace?" I asked

"He'll be fine Kevin. Here, take him." She said, handing me his unconscious body. She knelt next to Asura. "Agent of Nano and Sin of Lust, Asura. You have seen the entrance to the Grand Forest and been within the Forest itself…"

Gaia placed a hand on Asura's forehead.

"What are you doing?"

"I hereby wipe your mind of any information regarding the Grand Forest and myself!"

"No please! Leave my mind alone! You don't know what you're—AAAAAAGGHGGHH!"

Gaia's mind crackled with a white energy as the memories were drawn from Asura's mind. Asura kicked Gaia off and ran down the street, clutching her head and screaming.

"Gaia we have to catch her!" I said, gently setting ace down and starting after her. I cringed and fell as my armor disintegrated. "What…I'm suddenly exhausted"

"Calm down Kevin. Your first time with Volcano Form will take a lot out of you. Relax"

"But she impersonated you and put one of your own Guardians against you"

"She's weak and broken. She'll let NANO know they've lost their pawn and we've gained power. Let her run."

**Though I wouldn't know it until later…Something was happening with Asura. She was losing control…**

_A mere half mile away…near my house_

"No…I've got to keep it together. Lord Cronus will kill me surely…No…go back in…I'm in control…you are a NANO pawn…GO BACK IN!"

The metal from Asura's skin had cooled and healed…but now it receded into her skull. The metal receded to reveal clothing and a small frame with dark skin. Her pink hair turned whire and shortened on one side. Her pupils widened and turned an emerald green and her skin darkened.

Nina stood and looked at my house "Oh…not again…I don't want to hurt Kevin…anymore…Stay in this time…Asura."

Nina limped into her house, still sore from Asura's battle with Terra Firma.

END.


	8. Chapter 8: Two Guardians at Last

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen rider…sadly.

**Kamen Rider Terra Firma**

**Chapter 8: Two Guardians at Last**

"Normal with Quotations" Is speech

'_Italicized with apostrophes'_ is thought or telepathic speech (is not italicized in flashbacks)

_Italicized text is flashbacks or a change in location/time period "with quotations for speech during flashback"_

**Bold text** is a narration.

**My name is Kevin Carlile. I am Kamen Rider Terra Firma, guardian of the planet Earth. I was recruited by Gaia, Mother Earth, to protect humanity from a group of robotic aliens who call themselves NANO. They use their nanorobotics technology to turn humans into their cybernetic slaves. Up until recently, I was the only guardian. I was a hero to the people. And I loved it. That is…until they got Ace, my best friend. He has been tricked into fighting for NANO as Kamen Rider Tempest. He and I have clashed several times in the past few weeks…I have entered my junior year now. It's been rough, but I'm making it. Things have started changing…a new girl, Nina Foxglove moved into town from Kansas about 2 months ago. Around Thanksgiving, we started dating. I haven't been this happy in a long time…not since NANO dug their grubby hands into my life. The Sins appeared recently, NANOs 7 generals based on the 7 Deadly Sins. On New Year's Eve, Ace asked to meet me and we talked…we talked about how each other became Guardians. We were rudely interrupted by Ace's interrupted by who Ace thought was Gaia, but was actually Asura of the Sins…the Sin of Lust to be exact. She revealed that she was using Ace to find a way to get NANO into the Grand Forest. In his fury (and mine, admittedly) we attacked. She almost destroyed us. But her thrashing forced me to my peak, allowing me to achieve Volcano Form and defeat her…barely. Gaia wiped Asura's mind of knowledge the Grand Forest, but also seemed to unhinge something in her mind. With new powers at my disposal and my best friend at my side once again I think…I think I stand a chance.**

_January 2012._

I blinked slowly and woke up. My entire body ached from the fight, even though well over a week had passed. Ace was on the team now…sort of. He refused to train with me, wouldn't speak to Gaia if I was in the room, and seemed moodier than ever. Nina was her same lovable self. But she seemed tired…nervous…tense. Like something was weighing on her mind that she couldn't handle on her own. It seemed like the fights had just gotten harder and harder, even with the acquisition of Volcano Form. When they say the life of a hero isn't an easy one, they aren't kidding.

I groaned and sat up slowly. I looked down. I fell asleep without a shirt on. Downside to pyrokinesis is a raised body temperature. Comes in handy in the winter, though. I looked over my torso and noticed scars from various battles I'd fought. I saw the deep claw marks from my battle with Rage; my first exposure to a Sin. I saw the explosive star-like pattern where Ace's punch had landed during our first battle. And, more recently, I saw the burning marks that the claws of Asura had left in my shoulder. I winced as I rubbed the still fresh scars. I'd have Gaia heal them up some more today. I got up and donned my attire for the day, and put in my contacts. I walked downstairs, and my dad was sitting at the table.

"Good morning Kevin" he said, reading a book off of his Kindle.

"Good morning Dad. I'm going to go hang with Ace at the park." I said.

"Son?" He asked me.

"Yeah Dad?"

"Is your shoulder alright? You've been favoring it recently." He said.

"Oh I twisted it wrestling with the guys. I'll be fine. Bye Dad." I said walking out the door.

My father looked down and nursed a circular burn on the back of his right hand. He left to go to work soon after I left to go meet Ace.

I walked into the park and found Ace sitting in the back of a pagoda twirling a few leaves with a current of air. I called his name and he looked up at me with a faint smile. Dark circles, the sign of a sleepless night, had gathered under his eyes.

"Eek. Did you not sleep well, buddy?" I asked

"You know I didn't, man." He said, rubbing his eyes.

"Come on man. Let's run to the store, get some Dew, and head to the Grand Forest." I said, patting his back. He winced.

"Hey man, watch it. My back still hurts from that last fight." Ace groaned.

"Eek, sorry dude. I get you. Come on, let's get going." I said, patting his shoulders.

We walked to a local corner store, the Loaf n' Jug near my house, and bought two 24 oz Mtn Dew.

"By the way, Romeo, how's Nina? Haven't seen her since before our little conflict on New Year's Eve." Ace said.

"Oh she's not been feeling well so I've let her have some time to herself." I said.

"That sucks man." Ace said.

I noticed a slight twitch in his face. That was his thinking face. But I didn't think anything of it then. I should have, but I didn't

'_Nina not feeling well immediately after that battle is way too convenient to be coincidence. I need to keep an eye on this.' _ Ace thought.

We walked to the park and into a secluded area where a small creek flowed.

"So how you feeling Ace? Feel good now that you're on the good guys' side?" I asked?

"You know it." He said, laughing a fake laugh. He was more transparent than a Ziploc bag.

"All right remember what I taught you buddy?" I asked Ace?

"Yep." He said, placing his hands into the creek. Pillars of water rose from the stream and swirled together, forming an archway. White light shone from this arch and formed a portal to the Grand Forest. As the portal stabilized, Ace let out a grunt of exertion.

"See? I told you making a gate to the Grand Forest wasn't as easy as making portals elsewhere. But, nice anyway. My first portal wasn't nearly as stable. Let's get going brother." I said, helping Ace up and into the portal he'd conjured.

We walked into the Grand Forest. The lush scenery and babbling brooks have become a second home to me; a place I go when I need serenity. Ace is still getting used to it. Every time he walks in he seems to be overwhelmed; washed over with a sense of awe that I once knew all too well. As the gate of water went limp and splashed to the ground behind us, our mentor and friend, the goddess of the earth herself stepped forward.

"Hello Guardians. How are you? What brings you to the forest?" Gaia asked

"Just needed a quiet place to train." Ace said.

We walked over to the creek. We let our gauntlets form over our hands. I plucked a stone from the creek and placed it on the dial. The dial glowed and formed jagged rock spikes over my forearm. Ace knelt down and drew water up from the creek, letting it swirl up over his arm, forming a clear second skin over his forearm. We assumed our fighting stances and circled each other.

"Try not to destroy the forest boys." Gaia said, waving her hand and making some chamomile tea leaves grow. She brewed herself a small pot of tea and sipped as we stared each other down.

"We won't Gaia." We said.

"Henshin!" I exclaimed.

"Henshin." Ace muttered.

And so began our first training battle; my Terra Firma Form versus Tempest's Aqua Form. Gaia later described it to me as déjà vu; it reminded her of the first time she had watched high tide crash against a large cliff side. The bond that we had shared over the years allowed us to predict each other's moves; but the months we had spent as bitter rivals had allowed us to formulate strategies using this advantage. It was a median between a friendly bout and a boxing match, I would surmise. We dare not draw weapons on each other now; we had built a small practice range for that. But our fight with Asura had proven our martial arts and other close range abilities were severely lacking. So we fought. And we danced a near-lethal, but surprisingly friendly, dance for hours.

**But while we fought to be prepared for the Sin of Lust, Nina fought her at that moment within her mind. And she was losing.**

Nina stumbled to her mirror. While she looked normal, albeit severely sleep deprived from night after night of Asura screaming in her mind, when she looked in the mirror, she saw only the face of Asura. She smirked and the whisker-marks on her human face, the only part on the Sin's body not covered in metal, arched up.

"Aww. Somebody not get a good night sleep?" Asura asked

"Go away, Asura…cat…lady thing. Yeah. You." Nina grumbled sleepily, splashing water on her face

"Oh now don't be like that Nina. You know you love me. Otherwise I wouldn't have manifested all those years ago." Asura said.

"NANO planted you in my head. You never manifested and you damn well know that." Nina said, starting to seethe.

"Ooo temper temper little girl." Asura said.

"Oh the embodiment of human promiscuity giving me a lecture on keeping my emotions in check. Just stay in your cage, cat." Nina snapped.

"Meow. Now this is the Nina I like to see. Feisty, frisky, and a little cat like. When you're like that…how can you not say that at least some of me came from you."

With that, Nina whirled around and her fist hit the reflective glass. The mirror spider-webbed from the point where her punch landed and it shattered. Glass fragmented and dug into her knuckles and blood dripped into her palm, down her wrist, and to her forearm. Her chest heaved up and down as she seethed with rage over the Sin's words.

"Oh now violence is uncalled for, honey." Asura chuckled, her words teasing the back of Nina's consciousness. "But I guess that's always what happens when I get you all fired up…but I suppose I've tormented you enough."

Nina felt a cold sensation like that of liquid mercury flowing into her mind and down the skin of her back. She dropped to her knees and her breathing became ragged as she struggled to retain control of her body. She saw liquid metal slither down her arms and soon it filled her field of vision. She wanted to scream for help…for my help.

"Shh shh shh you get some sleep Nina…I've got some errands to run."

Nina blacked out as Asura overwhelmed her. As the black embrace of unconsciousness swallowed her, the seductive chuckle of the Sin of Lust was left echoing in her mind.

_The Grand Forest_

I landed a punch square in Ace's chest, just as he did mine. We both stumbled back and resumed our stances.

"Déjà vu, huh Ace?" I chuckled.

"Don't remind me Kevin." Ace said solemnly.

I threw a punch and Ace parried it away

"Oh come on after all that we've been through together over the years you think I'm going to let a few months of rivalry get in the way of things?" I asked

"You may not Kevin, but I can't forgive myself for the fact that, as you said, after all the things we've been through, I let myself be fooled so easily."

He jumped high and let loose a gust of air. I raised a wall of rock to block it and when I climbed it Ace was nowhere to be seen. I turned and Ace was on top of the wall with me and we were dukeing it out once again. Soon I caught his fist and put him an arm bar, using all the strength that Terra Form granted me.

"I've forgiven you for all that you've done Ace. You're my best friend, my brother, and my partner in this war. Why can't you forgive yourself?"

"Because of all the reasons you just listed, Kevin…and the fact that I was so easily spoon fed NANO's lies…I can never forgive myself."

Just then Gaia ran over to where we were training, a look of panic and urgency on her face.

"NANO Cyborg at the City Park Zoo. Highly aggressive."

I let go of Ace and we hopped down from the stone wall we were fighting on. I pressed my hands against it and blew out the center, forming another portal back to Earth. We ran through and started navigating our way back to the Zoo. We dodged our way through the crowd and eventually found ourselves at the center of the zoo, a small grassy area surrounding the lion pens. The cages were shattered and the lions roaming free, scaring people away. In the lion's den itself stood Asura and a Cyborg resembling a humanoid cheetah. In place of the platinum blonde fur of a cheetah was what seemed to be white-gold for skin on this cheetah-like Cyborg. It had claws like Asura's, four eyes like the first cyborg I had fought, and ravenous looking fangs.

"What's this Asura? Got yourself a friend?" I asked

"Oh no, Kevin. We Sins have finally perfected NANO's Cyborg-creating technology after more than 30 years. You will no longer be fighting the test subjects created in the 1970's, but new, perfect foot soldiers created by the Seven Deadly Sins!"

My heart skipped a beat. The monsters I had been fighting up until now were imperfect prototypes that NANO had been using for more than 30 years. They weren't even ready for battle and I'd had trouble defeating them. And not only had the Sins now perfected the technology; they were personally creating the soldiers.

"And let me guess." I said "Each sin creates unique types of Cyborgs?"

"Very astute, my adorable little guardian. Yes, we Seven Sins can now create seven varieties of Cyborgs." Asura said.

I chuckled to myself, thinking of the creatures based around the Sin of Avarice. _'Guess Martin's creatures will be rather Greeed-y.'_

"And now" Asura continued "We Sins are tasked with creating Seven Armies for our master."

"Ever going to tell us who that is, feline?" Asked Ace

"No, windbag, I shall not. You will meet the one who oversees NANO when he comes to take your world."

"Such hostility for me, yet less for Kevin? Strange behavioral patterns for the Sin of Lust. Love the hairstyle by the way."

I looked to see what Ace was talking about, and noticed frays of white in the Sin's hair, similar to the black highlights she had when she had first appeared. Her hair also appeared shorter than before, but I thought nothing of it.

"Hmph. Thank you, water boy. It was a little splurge to celebrate our accomplishment…but enough of your jabbering. I have soldiers to create; Cheetah Cyborg! Shred them to bits!"

The creature dashed at us almost faster than we could react. But with a seismic stomp, spikes rose up and the creature slowed to avoid them. Ace swirled is Aqua Naginata into existence and slashed at the creature, but it sped away. I tried to raise wall upon wall to halt its advance, but to no avail. Then, it went on the offensive; it ran past us, clawing me as it went by. Then it ran by again, this time getting Ace across the face. The Cheetah Cyborg ran past each of us twice more, landing three good hits total, and then dashed off. Ace tried throwing streams of water at the metallic golden blur but it was simply useless. This creature was too fast for us. It ran past again and slashed both of us, knocking me to the ground, and Ace off of his footing.

"Ace. I have an idea. Back me up here." I said as he threw streams of water.

I stepped forward and turned the outer dial on my gauntlet sideways. I lit the gauntlet aflame and punched through the ground, melting the asphalt and coating the gauntlet with the liquid rock.

"VOLCANO HENSHIN!"

The magma flowed up my arm and over my armor, blackening it. The black armor then cracked, slowly at first, but then shattered all at once, giving way to the features of Volcano Form.

"Ace! Try to get it in front of us!" I said

He nodded. He scanned the area and saw his opening. He swung his Naginata around, using it as his medium to control the water he had created, and splashed it down on the creature as it ran. It shook itself off and ran at us in attack. I plunged my hands into the ground and melted the asphalt the Cheetah Cyborg was running on, sending the creature plunging into liquid fire. It howled in anguish.

"Ace! Water!" I cried

He nodded and sent a jet of water at the red-hot pool, solidifying it. The creature struggled, its head and shoulders stuck above the ground. With another Seismic Stomp, the creature, and the asphalt that bond it, rose from the ground. I walked forward to the creature.

"Stay still this time. MAGMA FIST!"

I punched through the asphalt and the creature exploded, returning to its human form. It was the man who fed the lions at the zoo, ironically.

_The Grand Forest, later that night._

Damage control took about an hour. Resetting melted earth is tricky. Gaia wiped the Zookeeper's mind and anyone else's she could, but there are always stragglers.

"I always said you spend too much time among animals you become one." I told Ace as we ate the snacks we had purchased before the battle.

"I'm living proof of that." He mumbled.

"Oh come on Ace I don't appreciate this attitude of yours. It's starting to worry me how depressed you are since joining the team." I said.

"Kevin I'm glad you still consider me a friend, but I don't think I've redeemed myself to you yet, let alone the world. And until I have, I won't be forgiving myself, or be happy-go-lucky Ace again." He said, walking off.

I sighed. _'Today we learned valuable things about how NANO creates cyborgs…well the current ones. But Ace was so distracted and is going to remain that way…I hope he can find a way redeem himself in his eyes soon. I need him at the top of his game for this…I know I'm going to be using it a lot but…I don't think Volcano form will be enough.'_

**END**


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